No Man's Sky: Violet's Story
by Violet Chloe Snow
Summary: Follows the story of my game play throughout No Man's Sky, with a few additional preparation chapters at first. All story aspects will follow my character's game play, with story written around that.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**  
 **New Earth - New London - 731 South Falls Lane**  
 **1396 Years Since Abandoning Earth**

"At the end of the late twenty-first century humanity was burning through the last of the Earth's natural resources at an alarming rate. Faced with the possibility of extinction, it was decided that all the brightest minds of Earth needed to come together to come up with a solution to preserve the planet. It was decided that there was no way humanity could save the planet with their current technology, or even with the technology currently under development. Instead, humanity decided to undergo with Project Exodus. Over the coming years we would use up the last of Earth's resource to construct a fleet of five ships that were collectively called The ARK.

The records around this time were not well kept, and all we know for sure is that something went wrong during the launch process, causing the death of seventy-five percent of the human race. Those that survived would drift in space for centuries before they finally encountered a planet that was habitable and..." Violet hesitated as she looked over that line again before she sat back and let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes as she took a break for a moment.

"How did I end up here?" She looked around the room as she considered the question. There were a lot of things she imagined herself doing when she was younger, but she never thought she'd be working on an essay to qualify her for university in order to become a Human History Professor. And why was she doing it? When she really put her mind to it she couldn't come to a conclusion.

"What am I doing with my life? I'm not a teacher." She made a motion with her hand and the holoscreen opened an ExtraNet tab, exiting out from her unfinished essay as it automatically opened to the last page she'd visited. She made another motion with her hand, a synthetic female voice talking alongside the on-screen ad.

" _Explore the farthest reaches of the universe, discover undiscovered planets, discover unknown species of fauna and flora. Discover the ruins and monuments of old civilizations, learn alien languages and make new allies along your journey into the stars. Uncover the truth of every star and every planet, in whatever way you wish. Whether you choose to be a researcher, learning everything you can without interfering in the natural order of things; or a trader, traveling from station to stati-_ " She made a fast forward motion with her finger, the synthetic voice skipping the whole spiel and getting straight to the sales pitch. " _Explore the universe for the betterment of all life, reporting your findings back with the newest in ATLAS technology, allowing for the galactic community to map out every star within the universe. All it takes is one motion to get all signed up._ " The ad came to an end, aforementioned hand motion looping on screen with a hundred thousand credit price tag.

"A hundred thousand credits, huh?" It was nearly her entire savings account, which she had up until now been saving for university. But that was never going to happen, and she had finally accepted that. Granted, she wasn't exactly a space explorer either, but it was a lot more likely to happen than being a teacher. Violet hadn't even really considered the full implications of what signing up for the ATLAS program meant when she realized she was already making the displayed hand motion.

" _Authorizing Payment. Payment Authorized. Payment Received. Initializing Registration Process for Violet Liara Snow. Registration Complete for Violet Liara Snow. Activating Teleport Hyperlink with ATLAS Delta Station 3. Hyperlink Activated._ " There was a dull hum in the room before the teleportation process initialized, scanning her body and sending the data back before she was broken down at an atomic level, the reconfiguration process initializing at the teleport pad located within ATLAS Delta Station 3.

 **A/N - So there it is, the beginning of my No Man's Sky story. I will upload a few more chapters covering my character's preparation for her journey. The preparation chapters will end where the game begins, and as such, once I've completed them the story will go on hiatus until August 9th, at which point the story will be written alongside my game play.**


	2. Medical Facilities

"Biotransmetric data received. Transmetric signal received. Initializing reconstruction for Violet Liara Snow." The Teleportation Bay sprang to life as it received the signal, a holographic display of Violet's body appearing inside the Teleportation Bay, several circular rings spinning around the display and rebuilding her. Usually the process would've taken several minutes, but this particular Teleportation Bay was an extremely advanced prototype that had been designed with alien minerals ATLAS had discovered. It only took a few seconds to reconstruct her body, a black helmet with a visor closing around her head as it began downloading her consciousness.

"Initializing mental restoration process. Mental restoration process completed. Downloading basic ATLAS kit." One of the greatest advancements humanity had ever made was the breakthrough needed to bridge the gap between computer data and psychic data. It allowed for the human brain to be digitized, allowing some of the greatest human minds in history to be preserved for future generations. Similarly, it also allowed for the process to be completed in reverse, downloading digital data into the human mind. It wasn't something that was cheaply done, but to those that could afford it, what used to take years to learn could now be done in seconds. Languages, cultures, martial arts, and even military training. "Basic ATLAS kit downloaded. Final scan commencing. Scan complete. All life signs normal, initializing awakening."

The visor slid off of her head and folded back into the pod as the glass doors slid open. "Awakening complete." Violet gasped as she stumbled forward, taking a moment before she recollected herself and stood up.

"God I hate teleportation." She started to take another step forward before she paused, a bright blue avatar standing before her.

"Hello, and welcome to Delta Station 3. You have signed up to the ATLAS space exploration program. Do you understand what this means?" Violet started to say no, before she realized she did. She suddenly knew everything about what she was doing here, and what the ATLAS program was all about.

"Yes. I understand. I'm one of many that will be sent to one of the furthest corners of the universe, where I will explore a galaxy from the outside in. My primary objective will be to reach the center of that galaxy, with whatever means necessary. My secondary objective will be to discover as many planets, species of life, and minerals possible. Once I've reached the center I…." She paused as she realized that she didn't know what she'd do once she reached the center of the galaxy. She just didn't have that information.

"Correct. Once you have reached the center, you will report back on your findings, and a new primary objective will be assigned, with your secondary remaining the same as it has always been." The avatar paused before its body reconstructed itself to appear more human, making a motion with its hand. "Please, proceed to the med lab for a final physical and full inoculation of all known alien biohazards."

"A physical? Is there a chance of being denied?" She started towards the med lab as she asked this, now knowing where it was.

"No. However, our lead medical consultant needs to collect a data profile that our engineers will then use to construct a personalized environmental hazard suit. The suit will be designed to your specific data profile, and will maximize your physical capabilities to their extreme. Along your journey, we suspect you will be given several opportunities to upgrade your suit with the alien minerals you find, increasing your physical capabilities to an even further extreme." They passed by several rooms; including laboratories, archives, a workshop, a barracks, and of course a ship hangar.

"And how long will that take?" It hadn't taken her long to realize they were using extremely advanced technology, she suspected it wouldn't take more than a few moments.

"Seconds. Precisely thirty-seven to build your suit." The avatar paused as they reached the med lab, allowing Violet to go ahead of her. "Go ahead. I will be waiting for you at the engineer's workshop." The avatar vanished as it finished speaking, and Violet walked through the door of the med bay.

"No, that's impossible. Scan it again and then redo the test manually. The system's clearly detecting something that isn't there." The med lab had one patient in a stasis pod, infected with some sort of disease she didn't recognize. The woman who'd just finished speaking was wearing a standard green and white medical uniform, and was apparently scolding a member of the Lissani, an alien race of fully self-aware synthetic lifeforms.

"There is no need. There is nothing wrong with the system's equipment. As much as you don't want to admit it, surely you recognize it to. Your augmentations are fully synced with the system. You'd know if something were wrong, Dr. Syani." The Lissani came in many shapes and sizes; but this one, like many other Lissani that spent time in human space, was designed after a human body shape. "We have a guest, Doctor." Dr. Syani glanced at Violet as the Lissani spoke, sizing her up.

"So we do, Seven. So we do." She walked towards Violet, raising her arm to start typing on a screen on her left arm. "Alright. Violet Liara Snow, no known medical ailments of significant detail, originally planned to be a Human History teacher- that's a new one." She made a motion with her hand and a medical table slid out of the wall. "Alright, up on the table."

"Wow. Pretty serious augments." Violet said as she got up onto the table, lying flat on it.

"Major understatement. Alright, let's get this over with. Initialize full body scan." A blue light flickered on at the bottom of the table, slowly making its way up along her body before reaching the other end of the table and then going back down again.

"Four significant markers detected. Physical abilities determined at average for female humans at age twenty-one. Data profile complete." Dr. Syani was reading the results from the monitor on her arm, and she looked surprised as she typed something into her arm, a shot arriving in the delivery system beside the door.

"Well, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that you have Stage One Ovarian Cancer. The good news is you signed up for the ATLAS program" She picked the shot up and walked back over towards Violet. "…and we can cure that."

"Wait, you have a cure for cancer?" She barely had time to register any of that before Dr. Syani took ahold of Violet's arm and injected her with the shot.

"Something like that." She examined the mark and watched as it healed itself before disposing of the injector, making a motion with her hand. "Alright. That shot is filled with self-replicating nanobots that will adapt to your bloodstream and work alongside your immune system. From now on any wound that you take will be healed at an accelerated rate of ten times faster than what you're used to. Beyond that much, you've just been inoculated to all known alien biohazards, and within three hours your cancer will be cured."

"Thank you. Uh, what now?" Dr. Syani had already started to walk away, before she glanced back at Violet.

"Head to the engineer's workshop. By the time you get there they should already have your suit built, after which time it's off to the hangar where you'll pick your ship. They'll outfit you with a mining laser that also serves as a weapon and then they'll send you off." She continued towards Seven, tapping a button on her arm and the medical table slid back into the wall. "Right. Where were we then, Seven?"

"Right. Engineering." Violet started towards the engineering workshop, wondering what the suit would look like. She was more than a little excited to see it.


	3. Engineering

When she finally got to the Engineering Workshop, she wasn't surprised to find that the only staff were Lissani, with three of them in the workshop at that time. Two of them were working on something in the background, with chassis that were again similar to human form in design, but with extra arms to specialize them in engineering fields. The third was made up of a chassis that allowed for its form to be redesigned as the situation needed. Currently, it was nearly identical to the other two in the workshop, and was working on a suit that she suspected was hers.

"The measurements are accurate, the suit has been synced with her profile, and the shield generator is tuned to the correct frequency." As it spoke, it turned towards the other two Lissani, its extra arms busy typing data into multiple keyboards. "How is the new mining prototype coming along Five?" The Lissani apparently named Five moved away from the workbench it was working on to activate a matter manipulator, a three-dimensional blueprint for the mining laser appearing on the table before it was built.

"According to Six's calculations, this should work with seventy-five percent more efficiency than the previous version. However, you were working on the calculations for the blaster module, Four. We'll need to manually sync that data before we'll know for sure." One of Five's arms handed the mining laser to Four, and Four immediately started to fill in the needed calculations before moving to place it next to the suit.

"Welcome to the Engineering Workshop, Madame Snow." Four's chassis shifted to the shape of the human body as Violet walked over to the suit to examine it closer. "Please, try this on. It has been designed according to the specifications of your medical profile, but we need to do some final testing on the shield generator. The mining laser has also been designed to fit your biometric data. You will be the only organic lifeform able to use it." Four made a motion with one of its hands and a door on the side wall slide open, revealing a changing room.

"A changing room? I wouldn't have thought Lissani would need that."

"We don't. However, it was determined very early on that humans were too concerned with their vanity to change in front of other lifeforms, even when those lifeforms are the Lissani. The changing room was added to allow humans some level of privacy when testing their suits." Five didn't even look up as it explained, and when it finished speaking Violet took the suit into the changing room, quickly getting into it.

The suit was very interesting, it felt unlike any other clothing she'd ever worn before, so much so that it was hundreds of times more comfortable than anything else she'd owned. Finally, she pulled on the helmet, and the suit automatically sealed shut as it began a synchronization process. After a few seconds, the surface she had at first assumed was glass vanished. "Oxygen sphere activated. Activating HUD." There was a moment of visual cues before a basic HUD displayed itself on her eyes, displaying the shield's status and the suit's overall protection status. It also displayed how many credits she had, and a few other things she didn't recognize yet.

"If you have finished changing, it would be best that we begin testing as soon as possible." She exited the changing room, with Four leading her to the back of the room where they had a weapon range set up. "The shields should have activated already, and the status should be displayed in the corner of the HUD that you now see. If that is true, then we will proceed."

"Yes, it is." The HUD was a lot less awkward than she would've thought, and it only took a glance to check the status.

"Alright. For the first test we will fire an EMP at you to test and make sure the shield is properly working. It should be immune to most electromagnetic pulses, if this is true then we will move on to ballistic ammunition, and laser ammunition following that."

"Let's get this over with then." She walked down the range to stand at the end of it, and after a few seconds an EMP turret slid out of the wall, firing a single shot at her. It stopped about six inches away from her, the shield temporarily appearing to be displayed in a light blue color.

"Interesting. It shouldn't have lit up like that. However, the shield appears to be functioning at one hundred percent efficiency. Side effects aside, the test appears successful. Begin ballistic test." The EMP turret retracted into the wall, replaced with an old twenty-first century era ballistic turret. After a few seconds, it fired and once again, the shield reacted in the same way. "Begin laser test." Ballistic turret was replaced by a laser turret, and then after it fired. The shield bar actually indicated that the shield took some damage, but it regenerated after a few seconds.

"The shield bar went down for a second, is that supposed to happen?"

"That's as expected. Laser weaponry, unlike ballistic or EMP weaponry, will deal shield damage. After a few seconds without additional fire, the shield generator will automatically regenerate the shield." The turret retracted into the wall as Four made a motion with its hand. "Test complete. You may continue to the hangar Madame Snow. The mining laser will be sent ahead along with your basic kit. Once you've picked out a ship, it will all be packed on board and you will begin."

"Thank you, Four." Violet started towards the door again. When she got to the hangar, the avatar was there again, alongside three different ships.

"Now is the time that you will finally pick your ship. Ships come in three main types, and one of each is here for you to choose from: Fighter, Trader, Explorer. Fighter ships deal more damage and can take more damage. Explorer ships have better hyperdrives and engines, allowing for further travel, and Trader ships have bigger cargos allowing for the carrying of more cargo."

"If I choose one will I be stuck with it for the whole time?"

"No. We suspect you will be given multiple choices to find a new ship in your journey. Other alien races you encounter will have their own unique ships you will be able to buy." As the avatar spoke, Violet was looking over the ships considering things before she finally made her decision.

"Explorer." It didn't take her long to decide, Explorer just seemed right. Surprisingly, everything from there on was kind of a blur. Loading the ship with the basic kit she'd need to survive, refueling her ship, final modifications to the ship, and then inputting the coordinates to the galaxy she was meant to explore.

"Everything is ready for launch. This is the last opportunity you'll have to change your mind, and it will be the last time in a long time you get to see anyone from your old life. Are there any one you'd like to send a message to?" The avatar had deconstructed itself during the preparation process, and was now speaking through the mic that was apparently built into her suit. "Once you've reached the other side of the galaxy, you will only be able to contact us through ATLAS beacons, but we will be able to relay messages through those beacons."

"I…" She paused as she thought about it. She hadn't spoken to Arya in months now, and she hadn't planned to speak to her anytime soon, but if she was leaving for the other side of the universe this would be her last chance. "…yes. I suppose there is someone."

"Your suit has a built in camera for data collection purposes. Record your message and when you are finished I will send it to the intended contact." Violet thought about it for a long time before she finally found the right words to say, recording her message.

"Hello Arya. It's….been a while. I've signed up for the ATLAS program, which means…" She explained the program and what it meant in great detail, before turning to her apology and talking about their past, eventually reaching the close of her message. "…so even though I know it's been a long time, I hope this sort of clears the air between us." She'd managed to keep up appearances for most of her message, "And if it doesn't…well I just wanted to make sure I got a chance to say goodbye. And Arya I still l…" almost slipping up before catching herself and forcing a smile. "If you decide to respond, I've been informed that I'll only be able to receive and send replies at ATLAS beacons. It could be a while before I reach one of those. I'll see you when I see you."

"I assume that you have completed your message. If that is this case, I will send it to Arya."

"Yes. I'm done. Time to get this show on the road." She got into the ship, realizing the full implications of the fact that she now understood how to fly a ship of its class. She also realized that there was no way her ship could make the jump to the intended galaxy on its own. "This ship doesn't have the juice to make this jump."

"Correct. However, once you have left the hangar, your ship will fly to a relay nearby. The relay will overcharge your hyperdrive and send you to the coordinates we entered earlier, where you will orbit a nearby planet." The avatar paused before it spoke again. "There is a very high chance that the overcharge will damage your ship's engine, causing you to crash land on the planet."

"Will I be able to repair the ship with the materials I find on the planet?"

"We have not explored the planet itself, aside from launching a beacon on its surface. Whilst we cannot be sure, judging from the beacon's initial scans of its landing site, there is a chance that the planet could contain plenty of the minerals needed to repair the engine."

"Alright. Then I'm ready." Violet took one final breath before she started the takeoff process, exiting the hangar and following the route to the relay. As she left, she could hear the avatar over her suit's mic one last time.

"Farewell, Miss Snow."


	4. Early Beginnings

**A/N – Before going any further, it's worth mentioning that a few aspects of the story are going to change after what I've played of the game so far, and more than that, a few aspects of the game itself will be altered to better fit the story, which will be addressed as they are written into the story. One of the biggest changes not related to the game however is that from this point forward there will be moments in which the POV changes to give a better overall feel. Lastly, thank you to everyone who's taken the time to leave a review.  
**

* * *

 _First Person POV_  
 ** _System Unknown – Planet Unknown – Planetary Time: Day_**

In one second there was silence, and then in the next there was an overwhelming sound as the relay overcharged my Hyperdrive. Hyperdrives are such interesting devices. They accelerate a ship to the speed of light, and usually it bends time around the user. For the user, it feels like seconds or minutes, when in reality years are passing you by. And yet, somehow I knew that wasn't the case for me. I was traveling at the speed of light, with an overcharge from a highly advanced relay built by ATLAS. There was so much I didn't know about them, but what I knew was that a Hyperdrive couldn't sustain a jump to FTL for as long as it needed in order to get me to the other side of the universe.

And even if it did, years, no _centuries_ would pass by in what felt like seconds to me. And yet somehow, someway, I knew that wasn't happening. I knew that the time dilation wasn't there. And suddenly I was very afraid as I realized something. Whatever ATLAS was, it wasn't just a company that was exploring the corners of the universe. It was so much more than that. I was just starting to realize the truth of what meant that when something in my ship exploded, and the world faded to black.

 _Third Person POV_

"I mean, physically….much as I'm surprised that her ship isn't space dust…to how surprised I am she survived with so few….those injuries, as severe as they were….healed in three days." Violet was slow to come to, and she only heard bits and pieces of whoever was talking. When someone finally replied, she couldn't make out any of whatever they were saying in response.

"So who is she then? I mean…there was one of the orbs at the crash site. Do you think she's…?" Whoever was asking the question didn't finish it, and apparently they didn't need to. Violet was starting to get a clearer hold of her senses, but she wasn't fully awake yet.

"She must be. Which means she'll wanna get out there again as soon as she's up. Although, it'll be no easy task fixing that ship of hers. Some of the materials will be simple enough to find on the planet. For some of the rarer materials though…" The man speaking stopped to think about it before the woman he was talking with spoke up again.

"Maybe the space station. I mean, she'll need to get her ship space able first, but once that's done the space station should have the parts she needs to fix her hyperdrive. Although…do you think the Sentinels will bother her if she gathers resources from the planet?"

"Not unless she provokes them. This planet isn't exactly a high risk zone." It had taken her a minute, but Violet was finally awake again, sitting up and looking over herself to make sure nothing was broken or damaged. She didn't feel even the slightest bruise, and her suit seemed to be in perfect condition.

"No, I suppose not." After Violet was sure she was fine, she took a look around to find herself in what looked like a bedroom.

"We've been on this planet for a while now. We'll probably get ready to take our leave once she's awake and the others return with fuel." Violet walked through the door to find herself in what looked like the bridge of a Kestrel, a very old model of ship that was commonly used for scavenging and mining. Now she understood. These people were nomads, and luckily for her they'd been refueling on this planet when she crash landed.

"Guess we're leaving soon then. I'd say you shouldn't be walking so soon after being out cold for three days, but in all my years working as this ship's doctor I've never seen someone heal as fast as you did." As the woman spoke, the man who'd been looking at a map of the system looked up to see that Violet was awake.

"Welcome aboard the Nova. My name is Captain Matthews, and that lovely lady is Doctor Thirteen. You had a bad crash exiting a jump to FTL, and were lucky to have survived." Violet looked back at Doctor Thirteen, realizing all of a sudden she was a Lissani. She looked amazingly human, but there were still some giveaways that she was a member of the synthetic race, most of all being her name which was as normal a number.

"Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Violet, and if you don't mind me asking, where are we?" The Captain made a motion with his hand and the system map zoomed in on a planet.

"Right there. On an unnamed planet, in an unnamed system. Planet's not exactly the worst planet out there, but neither is it the best. It's a bit of a swamp, and if you stay outside for too long you're likely to experience some minor toxicity from the environment."

"You didn't name it?" That seemed to amuse the Captain before he answered.

"Under whose authority? In order to name something you need to access a beacon and upload the name with ATLAS authority. We're nomads. We scavenge wreckage and we mine asteroids for resources. We're not with ATLAS."

"Interesting. Thank you both again, but I really need to get back to my ship." Thirteen spoke up at that point, having examined Violet's suit while she was out.

"As far as I can tell, your HUD has the location of your ship marked on it. Do be careful out there, even with your shield, spending too much time exposed to the planet's environment is a bad idea."

"I will." She walked out of the room and took her first look at the planet's surface. There were plenty of plants that resembled trees whilst looking like octopi, with other smaller plants shaped like mushrooms, and she could also see a small reptilian foxlike creature scavenging through what reminded her of grass. The planet's surface itself was a dark green, with pools of bright green water scattered across the ground. "A bit of a swamp. Slight understatement." Her HUD flickered online to display her health, shield strength, and environmental protection. It also had a symbol representing her ship that stated it'd take her three minutes to arrive.

"First planet I've seen so far is a horrible swamp. Lovely." She started towards her ship, coming across crystalline structures rupturing out of the ground. She attempted to scan them, but her scanner was damaged. According to her display, her ship had several critical damaged systems as well. Unfortunately, her multitool was in her ship's cargo.

" _Toxic Protection at seventy-five percent._ " Her suit chimed in just as she arrived at her ship, taking it in with a grim look. The ship's hull seemed to be most intact, aside from the section where the hyperdrive was meant to be. There the hull had been blown open, with the hyperdrive itself being nothing more than a charred husk of sparking machinery. Now that she was in range, she transferred her multitool from the ship's cargo to her inventory, pulling it out to test it. She was about to go gather the resources she'd need to repair her ship when she noticed something else. A small metal globe, with a display of a red orb floating above it.

Atleast…she thought it was an orb. But it kept shifting, changing, morphing. As she got closer to it she felt a type of warmth she couldn't explain. She didn't know what it was, but it knew her and because it knew her she knew it. This small thing filled her with such a great feeling of fulfillment. And then it spoke to her. Told her to follow its guidance. She agreed and she felt whole, right before the orb vanished. "What the hell was that…whatever. I'll…worry about that later."

She started gathering resources, and found out several things after she repaired her scanner. Firstly, the multitool broke materials down to their base elements, and the red crystalline structures she'd found before were plutonium. Secondly, when she scanned something the system gave it an automated name, which she could upload at a beacon. When it came to upload, she could also change the name if she chose to do so. She hadn't seen any beacons yet, but she knew there was at least one at this system.

"Alright. I've gotten the materials I need to repair most of my ship, although I'll have to rebuild my hyperdrive from scrap." She opened her crafting interface and five metallic diamond-shaped crafting drones slid out of place from a series of slots on her exosuit. She chose what she wanted to build and the drones started to surround her ship as they rebuilt the system from the inside out, consuming the materials required to make it. When she was done, everything but the hyperdrive was in functioning order once again and the drones returned to her inventory, sliding into place on her exosuit.

She got into her ship and refueled and her launch thrusters, taking off to fly above the surface, her ship automatically locking onto the signal of a transmission building. She landed beside it and was about to enter it when she noticed a metal cylinder in the ground. "Might as well take a look." Her suit identified it as a knowledge stone, and when she touched it a circle on the front of it light up bright white and she heard a word whispered in the back of her mind. She now knew the Vy'keen word for interloper.

"I guess this is a Vy'keen station then." When she said the word Vy'keen aloud, images flashed through her mind of a proud warrior race of aliens. More of what the ATLAS basic kit had imprinted into her mind. "Great. Let's try not to insult them. Kind of hard considering I only know one word in their entire language." She walked into the station to find a Vy'keen examining something on a holodisplay, glancing up to grunt a greeting at her. She started to talk to the warrior and it handed her a message. The message wasn't signed, was addressed to her, and it clearly wasn't from the Vy'keen. It was written in English, and it contained the blueprint for a hyperdrive. After it gave it to her it spoke.

"Interloper, adkheus ihtosn dnnetohsudne suhdoen aknduen andueo. Ande! Ande! Wnehusi sodhe tkdhue, Interloper?" It gestured towards her inventory, and seemed to be asking for a resource of some sort. She considered it for a while before giving it fifty iron. It seemed elated to be given that, and rewarded her with more knowledge of the Vy'keen language. She now knew the Vy'keen words for warning and oxide. She bid the Vy'keen farewell as best she could as she left the station, looking at the message once more.

"My destiny is in the stars above…" She didn't know who sent this message or how they could've known she'd end up here. All she knew for sure was that now she had the means to fully repair her ship. But first, she'd need a few more parts. Parts that she could get from the system's space station. She jumped back into her ship as she took off, angling her ship to the skies as she exited the atmosphere. Then she was floating, looking at the open expanse of the stars. The system had a green tinge to it all, but above all else it was beautiful. Stars as far as the eye could see, with two other planets in this system each with their own moon.

Her ship picked up the system's transmissions before she saw it, her HUD identifying that it would take several days to arrive at her current speed. Simultaneously, a notification popped up telling her how to activate her ship's pulse boost. "Alright. Here we go. Please don't fall apart." As far she knew, her ship was perfectly fine after her repairs, but she wasn't exactly a rocket scientist. A countdown displayed on the ship's main screen as she locked onto the space station.

" _5…4…3...2…_ " The pulse boost activated, her ship accelerating to nine-thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine units. The expected arrival time decreased significantly, dropping to a few minutes. "Doesn't look like that large of a station. Probably a Vy'keen station too, if that outpost is any indication." The initial worry was past, now she recognized meeting more of the Vy'keen as an opportunity to learn more of their language. "Can't wait to meet them."

 **A/N – It's a lot harder to turn the game into a story than I thought it would be. This game specifically. I think I did it as well as can be, but I can't know for sure. I suppose we'll see. Someone mentioned OC applications, and I'm not sure if I'm going to do that or not, but I do know that other OCs will be introduced. Who knows, maybe we'll even see the Nova and its OCs again sometime.**


	5. The First Station

**A/N – Before continuing any further, I feel it's necessary to point out that on my profile there is a question that I'd like to have answered by all those reading this story. And once again, thank you to all those that took the time to review this story.**

 _First Person POV_  
 **New Earth – Ruins of New London – Ruins of 731 South Falls Lane  
2193 Years Since Abandoning Earth**

Humans are third-dimensional beings. Because of this, we register the world around us and everything we experience in three dimensional terms. When faced with something from any dimension beyond the third, we try to comprehend it in ways we can understand. The problem is, we can't comprehend it. So we end up with a skewed understanding of how the universe works, and then we teach it to our children and their children and their children's children. Occasionally, someone comes along to try and change the way we understand these things, and they are usually ridiculed. People don't _like_ being told they're wrong. Especially not humans.

Probably the thing that we got most wrong though, was our understanding of time. Not only did we not understand it, but we also tried to measure it. Except you can't measure something that's relative. All those numbers we assigned to time were pointless. They didn't mean anything. After I realized that…it was only a matter of time before I learned how to time travel. Of course, calling it traveling isn't completely accurate. Because I'm always here. I'm always there too. And I'm always in that galaxy.

Time isn't fluid, it's static. You can't change time because time is always happening. Every moment of your life is always happening. Everything you have ever done, everything that you are doing right now and now and now, and everything that you ever will do. It's always happening and it was always going to happen and it always did happen.

I witnessed the end of a galaxy, and it was beautiful in the most horrific of ways. I witnessed the birth of a brand new galaxy, and it was beautiful in ways that can't be described. I watched everyone I love come into this universe, and I have watched every single one of them die. I keep writing these things. These _records_ of my journey through space. Part of me doesn't know why. But another part of me, the part of me that was enveloped by The Atlas…that part of me knows the truth. I'm writing these records for the others. The people in another universe, or more accurately the people in multiple other universes.

Part of me thinks that maybe I can warn them. Maybe I can stop this from happening in other places. The other part of me, the part that was enveloped by The Atlas, tells me that it's pointless. I can't do anything to stop it. Every universe in the multiverse will meet the same fate. They will all burn. And I, having been touched by The Atlas, will watch it happen. If there's any consolation, I won't have to watch it burn alone. Others have been touched by The Atlas too. We'll all watch it happen together. But I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I?

Let's see now…if I remember it properly, I was just getting around to the space station. My first space station, back before The Atlas had fully enveloped me.

 _Third Person POV_  
 **Unknown System – Vy'keen Space Station – Time Unknown**

Violet stepped through the station's door, glancing back at her ship on the landing platform before walking into the room to look at the Vy'keen sitting in a desk above a trade vault. It didn't bother to look up at her as she entered the room. She walked closer to it, and it glanced up at her, its system automatically scanning her exosuit's inventory before it spoke to her. "Aldnhi, Interloper. Inadjioen ajdhfj dhuse odaisdd ahdoet warning andohe djoenlo ojidjen oxide, Interloper."

Even with the extra words she now understood, it was hard to make out what it was saying. She considered it for a moment before she finally decided to give it a hundred carbon. It was obviously pleased with this, before it gave her a blueprint for an advanced shield generator and taught her another word from its language. She now knew the Vy'keen word for journey. "Thank you." She started to leave the room, to go back to her ship before she noticed the trade hub in the corner. Her ship inventory was full of alien artifacts and metals she'd collected on her mining trips earlier, and there were a few still in her suit inventory.

Even if she didn't need the money, she did need the space in her suit's inventory, so she moved over to activate the hub. There was a chime as the system synced with her suit to identify her and access her credit storage. " _Identity Confirmed, Violet Liara Snow, Juvenile Atlas Traveler._ " All it took was a few motions with her hand to sell all of the artifacts and all of the metals that her system had classified as luxury metals. " _New Credit Balance Verified._ " It now displayed that she had just over a hundred thousand credits. With her inventory now all but empty, she walked back through the door, hopping over the railing before boosting onto the landing pad, running over to get back into her ship.

" _System Connection Complete. New Messages Received._ " She was surprised to find that her ship had automatically synced with the station's communication relay. She had two messages from the other side of the universe. One from the Delta Station, and one from Arya.

"Well that's surprising. I thought I could only receive those messages through ATLAS beacons, not just through any galactic communication relay." She opened the message from the Delta Station first, a video of Dr. Syani appeared on screen.

"Hello again Violet. According to Six, they've upgraded our tech using the reports we got from some other ATLAS recruits. You should get this the next time you enter any space station with a galactic communication relay. Speaking of, it's time that we told you something that we left out of the basic kit. ATLAS, is a front for well, The Atlas. I can't tell you all that much about it, because you're meant to discover it yourself. Honestly, I don't understand it all that much myself either. But we know that the ATLAS program was founded by someone who was touched by The Atlas." Dr. Syani paused for a moment before she continued, several of her augments lighting up with multiple alerts. "I have to go soon, but I am looking forward to seeing all the data you've compiled on any life forms you've discovered. The Lissani in Engineering aren't exactly excited, but they do require the data on what technology you've discovered." The doctor finished speaking and the message cut off. She sent all of the data she'd compiled so far to the station.

"And now…the hard part…" She thought about ignoring the other message, really considering it before she finally decided to play the video. She made a motion with her hand and the video feed displayed across the entirety of the ship's screen.

"So…it's been…a long time. After the last time we spoke I figured you'd never speak to me again. I was surprised when I got your message. I was even more surprised to find out you were exploring the far corners of the universe. I…there's something I need to tell you. I always intended to tell you eventually, but it was never the right time." She seemed to consider something before she spoke again, a look of reminiscence on her face. "Do you remember when we first started dating? I told you pretty earlier on that I had more than a few augments. You didn't care, you even had two of your own."

Violet paused as she considered what Arya was saying. She had bad memory, or at the very least she used to have bad memory. Now though…she could remember it all clear as if it had just happened. "No….that's…that's not…I…"

 **A/N – So, I know that there's been very little actual gameplay elements in this chapter but I've been laying the ground work for the story, which, after much consideration…I have decided will be the story regardless of what I find in the galactic core. Some gameplay and lore aspects** _ **will**_ **be altered to fit the purposes of this story.**


	6. The Red Blight

**A/N – I delayed writing this chapter for pretty much as long as I could. Besides the fact that I'm a professional at procrastination, I also wanted to learn more about that red stuff in abandoned buildings. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to find all that I wanted. Here we go anyway.**

 _Third Person POV_

 **Nyhte System - Vy'keen Space Station Orbiting Planet Swampishell – Time Unknown**

Violet stopped the video, closing it and reopening the interface that displayed her ship's cargo and her current balance of Units. For the moment she was still linked to the space station's trade hub, allowing her to purchase the last thing she'd need to repair her Hyperdrive. She paused as she considered something before she activated her suit's built-in camera again.

 _First Person POV  
_ **Five Hours Later**

I don't know exactly how long I've been sitting here. Staring blankly at a camera, trying to think of what to say. Everything seems so complicated, so painful. I don't want complications. I don't want pain. "I…" I'm lost. "I…" _Your destiny lies in the stars._ I hear the whispers in the back of my head, and a feeling of warmth envelops me. I remember this warmth from the beginning of my journey. From the moment in which I decided to follow the guidance of The Atlas. The Atlas is within me, and I am within it. It knows me inside and out, and because it knows me, I know it.

Suddenly, everything is beyond clear to me. I know what to do next, it was so obvious. All I need to do is follow The Atlas.

 _Third Person POV_  
 **Five Minutes Later**  
"There was only ever one path for me to take." She launched her ship, the station's guidance system automatically flying it out into the abyss of space, her ship's scanners picking up a signal from something on the planet below. "What do we have to investigate now, then?"

 _Transmission Detected. Identifying Signal. Signal Identified, Abandoned Research Outpost. Unauthorized Quarantine Failsafe Initiated._

"Quarantine…?" She was more than a little curious about that, and according to what Dr. Syani had told her she was immune to all known alien biohazards. "Let's take a look." She activated her ship's pulse booster and jumped through space to reach the signal, watching the time of arrival drop from hours to seconds. She jumped out of her ship as it touched down on the planet's surface, taking in the scene.

The station looked mostly intact, aside from a smoking satellite dish atop the structure, and where there should've been a door there was a twisted shard of metal that looked as if some type of beast had ripped it free. "What the hell happened here?" She moved to investigate closer, and an unsettling feeling of dread closed around her. She froze in place as she felt it, knowing that this was wrong. Everything about this place was just _wrong_. She forced herself to move closer towards the station, the feeling of dread getting even worse. She didn't even realize she was shaking.

 _Spike in Heart Rate Detected. Initializing Emergency Scan. Scan Complete. No Threat Detected. Nano Suppressant Protocol Activated._

The Nano-bots within her body released a neutralizing agent designed to calm her heart rate into her blood stream, the feeling of dread slowly fading away as her heart rate slowed to its average.

 _Vitals Stabilized._

"Everything about this is wrong…" She could still feel it, the dread getting stronger and stronger as she moved towards the remains of the door, the Nano-bots within her blood stream working to counteract it. Part of her regretted investigating the abandoned outpost as she finally stepped into the ruined station, getting her first look at what it was that had filled her with such a feeling of dread.

It looked like a wound on the world, crimson and ragged-edged, like something that once lived but was then torn asunder. She should have stayed away. If she'd had the senses to taste the air of this planet, she imagined it would have reeked with some kind of alien fetor, but nothing could stall her curiosity. Was it dead? Where she touched it, the surface was moist and yielding. It seemed to become motile then, crawling on a mat of slow cilia, moving away from her. She should have stayed away.

She was about to leave the outpost, not wanting to spend a minute more than she had to in the place, before she noticed a terminal. Or rather, what seemed to be left of one. It was covered in the red growth, whatever it was. She accessed the terminal, almost surprised when it flickered to life, displaying a long list of files. After closer examination, she realized that most of them were corrupted, with only a few of them being intact. One of the files was a collection of lab reports, the other being schematics for a prototype multi-tool modification. "Let's see what we have here then…" She transferred the files that weren't corrupted over to her suit, intending to examine them closer when she had more time.

 _System Synchronization Activated, Data Transfer Initialized. Corrupted Files Detected, Corrupted Files Purged. Synchronization Complete, Uncorrupted Files Saved._

She installed the multi-tool modification almost immediately, her suit synchronizing with the mod's interface as the grenade launcher came online. "However, there is of course one more thing I need to do first. This station is a blight on the galaxy, and the quarantine protocols failed. I don't intend to let it spread any further." She fully loaded the modification, using every last resource it required to wipe the station from the planet's surface. Something told her it already existed in other parts of the galaxy, however. She walked back to her ship, jumping into it and watching as the files she downloaded from the terminal displayed on the ship's screen. "Can't hurt to take a look…"

 **A/N – Not much happened this chapter, but I haven't finished sowing the story yet. After the next chapter, we'll get back into more gameplay focused story elements. More mining, exploring, and flying. Fun to play, not so fun to read. Once again, thank you to those that took the time to write a review.**


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